An Overview of Seminomatous and Non-Seminomatous Germ Cell Testicular Tumors: A Single-center Experience

Abstract

Objective: Although germ cell tumors (GCT) are rare malignancies, they are the most common solid tumors in men aged 15-40 years. This study aimed to compare the demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment responses, and survival characteristics of patients with seminomatous GCTs (SGCT) and non-seminomatous GCTs (NSGCTs) followed in our center. Materials and Methods: Patients with histologically confirmed testicular GCTs and followed up in our hospital between January 2005 and January 2021 were included in this retrospective study. This study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Ankara City Hospital. Results: Of the 360 patients, 65.8% (n=123) had NSGCTs and 34.2% (n=237) had SGCTs. The median age at diagnosis of the SGCT group was 36 years and that of the NSGCT group was 28 years (p=0.000). Both the diagnostic and postoperative levels of β-human chorionic gonadotropin were significantly higher in the NSGCT group (p=0.000, p=0.000 respectively). Rates of retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (3.3% vs 9.3%; p=0.036), adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) (17.1% vs 3%; p=0.000), adjuvant chemotherapy (CT) (61.1% vs 40.4%; p=0.003), and metastatic first-line CT (22.8% vs 47.3%; p=0.000) were different between the two groups. The 10-year overall survival expectancy rate was 89% in the SGCT group and 83% in the NSGCT group. Conclusion: This study drew attention to the characteristics and treatment responses of patients with NSGCTs and SGCTs. In this study, NSGCTs were diagnosed at an earlier age than SGCTs. The proportion of patients with stage 1 disease at diagnosis was higher in the SGCT group, while that of patients with stage 3 and metastasis at diagnosis were higher in the NSGCT group. In addition, the rates of adjuvant CT and adjuvant RT were higher in the SGCT group, while the metastatic first-line CT rate was higher in the NSGCT group.